Feminism and the Mary-Martha Story of Luke

"Martha, Martha...you are overanxious..."
by John Bolt

The Mary and Martha story (Luke 10:38- 42) has new traction these days as a proof-text for feminist educational activism—"out of the kitchen and into the academy"—but this is not how the tradition has understood it. On the contrary, the key point is not so much that Mary, the woman, has a mind and should be doing more than making soup and buns, but to call attention to the respective objects of their devotion. Martha is busy doing good things; Mary is attentive to Jesus and that is more important.

Rereading the anonymous fourteenth-century English spiritual classic, The Cloud of Unknowing, recently, I was led from the author’s own use of the Mary/Martha story (§§ 18–22) to self-examination and reflection on our contemporary church life. Specifically, are we too busy with this world? Are we so caught up in our programs, our campaigns to end poverty, eliminate racism, cool down our warming globe, stop all war etc., that we have forgotten what is truly important? And, then, if this is indeed the case, do we not have a clear indicator why we are so anxious, why we get involved in more and more "fix-it" projects?

I am often struck by the way in which the Bible writers juxtapose their stories as a way of pulling us back from possibly mistaken applications. Is it not interesting that the story which is often used to propel us toward good works and activism for social change, namely the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37) is immediately followed by the Mary/Martha story and then, in the next chapter, with our Lord’s teaching on prayer (Luke 11: 1-13)? Note also that Jesus teaching on prayer concludes with a reference to the one most important thing to pray for—the Holy Spirit (vs. 13).

So, are we becoming a Martha church, very busy doing all sorts of good things but losing our first love? Even worse, are we justifying all this busyness in the name of "seeking first the kingdom"? I said earlier that the Mary/Martha story brought me to self-examination. My call in this short little piece of reflection is that we all do the same. Herman Bavinck, reflecting on the furious neo-Calvinist activism of his own day wondered about "losing ourselves in the world. Nowadays we are out to convert the whole world, to conquer all areas of life for Christ. But we often neglect . . . [the fundamental question] . . . do we belong to Christ in life and in death. For this is indeed what life boils down to. What does it profit a man if he gain the whole world, even for Christian principles, if he loses his own soul." (The Certainty of Faith [Paideia, 1980], 94). Indeed!